To Hell From Blood
by HanSoloCup
Summary: AU beginning in NM. Bella moved on after Edward left, learning what she could of the mystic arts from Old Quil before leaving Forks behind for good. Now, in control of her powers, she meets a couple of people that are... different, like her. Danger magnet Bella is back at it again with bigger badder enemies. What sort of monsters could put even vampires to shame?
1. Prologue

**AN: Thank you for reading. This story is something that's been nagging at me for awhile, and I wanted to give it a try. This story will likely be very alternate universe and end up with an overpowered/godly Bella at the end. I've got it all outlined, so I'll try to send out chapters with some frequency. Don't forget to review. I'd like to hear some feedback.**

 **Oh, and, also, I'll probably change the title once I get a better feel for everything. I'm not exactly liking it as is.**

 **~Han**

* * *

He was gone, and I was empty. This was all I could remember for so long, months even. Don't get me wrong. I ate, slept, did homework; I existed during that time, but I only did enough to survive. I couldn't tell you why I never chose the cowards way out- took my own life. Maybe, I was afraid of what came after death, or, maybe I didn't want to hurt my family even more than I already was. It doesn't really matter anymore because I didn't. I'm alive, and, eventually, I moved on as best I could.

My life restarted the day Charlie threatened to ship me back to live with Renee. After that, I vowed to, at least, try- for his sake. I started to visit Jacob on the reservation more. His presence was like a balm for my soul, and, the more time I spent with him, the easier life became. Of course, things weren't exactly perfect. Sometimes, Jacob would say or do something to remind me of… them, and it would be like taking two steps back again. There was a point at which I thought, maybe, this could be my forever. In my mind's eye, I could see it, settling down, raising a family, and growing old here with Jacob, but, every time I set my mind to telling Jacob how I felt, there was something in the way.

After I found out about the pack's little secret, things were both harder and easier. Jacob couldn't always be around anymore, and, especially after they found out about Victoria, I was left to my own devices on the rez. My wanderings ultimately led me to Old Quil's house. The place was simple and weathered, but, inside, it was homely and magical. There was a warmth about it that instantly made you feel comfortable, willing to spill all your secrets at the slightest prompting. It was here that I learned the truth.

"You're an old soul, Isabella." Quil had spoken without any room for argument. "I know you're loathe to admit your desire to have supernatural powers."

"B-but, I don-" His fingers quickly pressed against my lips, keeping me from speaking further.

Quil quirked his head to the side and squinted his eyes a bit, a gesture I'd seen him do whenever he had an idea. "I want you to sit on the living room floor and get comfortable, Isabella. We're going to see if we can't get you to remember some things from your past life. Tell me, have you ever meditated before?"

I nodded, still trying to decide whether Old Quil had gone off the deep end. Following his instructions, I sat on the uncomfortable wooden floor and began the necessary breathing exercises to enter a meditative state.

That day, I learned the smallest tidbit from one of my past lives, and, with that, my life was changed irrevocably.

The day I graduated High School, my father was so proud and happy I was certain that he would burst with it. This was also the day I told him of my plans for the future. I told him that I wanted to move back to Arizona for college, but the bitter truth was that there was nothing left for me here. After Victoria had been destroyed, it hadn't been long until Jacob imprinted on a girl who had been visiting from a nearby reservation. With Edward gone, seemingly forever, there was nothing left for me in Forks except for painful memories.

With that, I moved back to Arizona where I was able to live in Renee's house. The place had been sporadically inhabited for the greater part of two years, so, when I came to live in it, everything needed a thorough cleaning. After only a couple of days, I deemed the place clean and I could finally get to work.

Over the past few months of working with Quil, I'd managed to learn more about one of my past lives. From what I could tell, I'd been part of a travelling band of demon slayers, going door to door killing the supernatural beasts in order to earn a living. This was probably hundreds of years ago, and I was excited to find that, when I tried to concentrate my own energy, like in the new-found memories I too could create weapons and projectiles from my body's own natural energies.

The summer passed, and I was able to hone my new skills out in the desert. Despite the blistering heat, I took hiking trips up Piestewa Peak in order to train my strength and stamina. Then, once I was alone, I would try to train using my energies. I soon found that I had an affinity for using projectiles, favoring a bow and arrows above others, but I knew I shouldn't stop there. Eventually, I was able to create a rudimentary barrier. It wouldn't hold out much for long, but, maybe, it would save my life one day.

Summer passed, and I enrolled in Community College for the fall semester. My parents were graciously paying my living expenses while I was here, allowing me to enjoy free time rather than having to work for the time being. Honestly, I dread the day that the offer ends, but, for now, I wouldn't look in the gift horse's mouth.


	2. Chapter 1

"What the hell!" I screamed jolting up from a dead sleep, punching my alarm clock off my side table in my rush to silence it. Why was my alarm going off? It's five in the morning! Scrambling up out of bed, I stumbled to the bathroom to begin my morning routine. I shook my head at my reaction to the alarm this morning. It had been a restful, long summer and I'd almost forgotten what my morning alarm sounded like.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face before making my way to the happily percolating coffee maker. I poured myself a steaming hot cup of black gold. I proceeded to pour in the perfect amount of whole milk and raw sugar before stirring as I took my seat at the table. I relaxed, nursing the mug just below my nose so that I could let the fumes begin to let the neurons fire.

After a while, I huffed a bit at the early wake up call. I'm just not a morning person. I sighed. It seemed liked I was sighing a lot lately. _Today will go well._ I told myself. _Maybe, I'll even make a new friend or two._

Looking at the time, I groaned my resentment quietly and rushed out of there after one huge gulp of liquid energy, leaving my empty mug behind. I dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a graphic tee before grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, walking out the door to my beast of a truck.

Half an hour later, I was walking across the street towards Paradise Valley Community College. As much as I hated hoofing it, there was no way I was going to pay the exorbitant priority parking fees to park on campus. I could see already that I was in for a lot of walking, something I did way too much of this summer. Walking had been the only mode of transportation out in the wilderness, and I hadn't gotten to recoup.

I walked to the entrance of the big, blocky building and followed the signs to the office where I received my schedule and book list. The woman was kind enough, but not at all nice to look at. In fact, not a single adult figure I saw here was at all easy on the eyes. It was the polar opposite of the Forks... like some lazy writer didn't care what the adults would look like because they would be passed over as minor characters anyway. Urgh, this is going to be a long semester.

I was walking along the hallway looking for the right room number when I bumped into a girl with stick-straight, mousey, brown hair, mocha colored eyes that shone with happiness, and a very sweet smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be new. My name is Kayla. I'm president of the student council. How can I help you?"

She seemed way too perky and helpful. It kind of worried me. I laughed awkwardly- an annoying habit of mine that needed breaking. "Well, you have me pegged, I am new. Could you help me find room number? I'm a bit turned around to be honest." She took the paper from me and started walking. How in the world she would know the location of the class? There must be hundreds on campus. I guess she must have gone here for a few years. I listened to her as she pointed out where my classes would be on the way and gave me some tips based on the teachers. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

She stopped and pointed to a door on the other side of the hallway. "That room is where you want to be. I'm in a more advanced class, but a bunch of my friends are in this class, so I'll see you around Bella."

My head turned around in shock. "How did you know my name? I never told you." I asked, eyes wide. I felt my heart begin to hammer in my chest. Please don't let her be a vampire.

She pointed at the top of my schedule. There was my name. Now I felt stupid, my mind acting like a sieve just like Edward once said. I felt a distant pull in my gut as I thought about my former love. "Oh. Well, thank you. I'll see you around Kayla."

I walked into class just before the teacher stood to lock the door, indicating to all late comers that tardiness would be unacceptable. I shuffled to the back of the classroom, finding only one or two open seats left, and I didn't feel like sitting at the front. I wound up behind an abnormally tall red head and next to an angry looking boy with black, slicked-back hair who was wearing a red, plaid collared shirt under a yellow sweater with a green jacket over top. He wore jeans and a pair of sunglasses rested on top of his head.

I wasn't paying much attention to the beginnings of the lesson, but the teacher pretty much ignored us all in the back and, despite trying to listen, I was otherwise distracted by the redheaded boy passing me a note. 'You don't look like the type of chick who belongs in the bad kid section. Why not sit at the front?' I read.

Finally having shaken myself out of the earlier stupor, I responded between writing the notes that were written on the board. 'I'm just here for an education. Don't want to participate if I can avoid it. My name's Bella, by the way.' I explained wrote. I briefly considered adding something about not wanting to be distracted, but changed my mind before I put pen to paper.

He was quick to respond- clearly not interested in writing any of the notes down. Either he had an impressive eidetic memory, or he just didn't care. He must cram all night before tests and manage to pass, I surmised. 'I've been in Mr. Iwamoto's class before. It's pretty easy so long as you've read the books he assigns. If you need any help with the material, let me know. Jamie Patterson at your service, Bella. I'm the baddest guy here at Paradise Valley Community College.'

I had barely finished reading the last note before another message was passed to me from the guy with the greaser hair. 'Hey, been readin' over your shoulder. Don't let that idiot fool you. He couldn't beat me in a fight if I had both hands tied behind my back. I like your shirt, by the way. Metallica is one of my favorites. Wanna go grab a drink sometime?' For my benefit, he signed his name, Ryan Zimmerman.

My eyes got wide as I read. The answer should be no, but something told me yes. What would a date with a human be like now after having dated a vampire? I almost couldn't help myself. He'd instantly made me curious. After a moment of deliberating, I responded. 'Yeah, let's meet up some time.' I wrote my phone number on the paper before handing it back. If Charlie ever found out that I gave out my number to a guy I'd literally just met, he would be pissed, but, somehow, it felt right being friends with this guy.

I closed my eyes and expanded my newly honed senses. There was no flicker of energy coming from either of them, but I just knew that there was something special about both of them. This could clearly be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The rest of the day was uneventful, and I spent the hour long commute home with a smile on my face, having made some new friends in Ryan and Jamie.

By the time October began, a tentative friendship had already formed between Ryan and me. We cut class a couple of times, choosing to go get coffee or just having a smoke off campus. I soon found out that Ryan had quite the badass reputation among the student body, and, since I was quickly becoming one of his closest friends, I was becoming a popular fixture there as well. I could hardly turn a corner without somebody greeting me, already knowing my name even though I don't think we'd ever met.

I did notice certain significant changes in Kayla in the few weeks of friendship with Ryan. She used to drag him downstairs to class every day after lunch. Then, towards the beginning of October it became less and less ending all together just before late. I suppose she was angry that Ryan had managed to find another friend, let alone a female one. She had been his only outlet for so long that she didn't seem to know how to handle it. We ended up coming together through the sorrow and passion of our loss when tragedy suddenly struck, though.

Contrary to popular belief among the student body, Ryan really is a nice guy, just misunderstood. He saved a little boy's life by pushing him out of the way of a car and taking the hit himself. Ryan was a hero for a brief moment in the eyes of the city, but then he was gone. That day, I stayed the night at Kayla's apartment. She didn't want to be alone, and, although I was sure she still resented me over the loss of her 'boyfriend' Ryan, I wanted to be there for her. Ryan was as close a friend as I'd ever had outside the Cullen's, and, with the loss of Edward from my life, I understood her feelings better than anybody.

The night I spent with Kayla after Ryan's death was the first night since my training with Old Quil that my senses noticed a presence. I looked at Kayla's form briefly after noticing. Thank goodness, she was asleep. I looked towards the presence and focused on it. "Ryan, if that's you, this isn't funny." I whispered, still feeling the slight tickle on the back of my neck. It didn't _feel_ menacing or evil. "Kayla and I need to get some rest before we have to help deal with your funeral arrangements tomorrow." I groaned after some time of sitting and waiting for something to happen. Finally, I moved to lay down. "If you have something to tell me, you should be able to contact me in my dreams. Goodnight, you bastard."

My dream that night was unlike any I had ever had before. Ryan and I simply sat on Kayla's bed, speaking long into the night. Apparently, the underworld wasn't prepared to take Ryan today. Supposedly, there was almost zero chance that he would have rescued that kid, and they didn't create a spot for him- whatever that means. How could you predict that kind of stuff anyway? Ryan told me that he had to decide if he wanted to go through a trial and live or choose to die. I begged him to face whatever trial the underworld had for him. He made this whole school, the whole town, bearable. It had only been a few months, but I could tell that we were in the beginning of something that would last a lifetime. Besides, it was obvious to me that Kayla needed him still.

I woke the next morning feeling like I hadn't actually slept all night. I could still sense Ryan in the room, so I smiled in his direction after checking that Kayla was still asleep. "Do what you want, Ryan, but know that we at least, still want you here... except for while we get dressed. You need to leave now." I stated before proceeding to ignore him and wake Kayla up. Before we got changed, I made sure that I sensed no nearby presence, briefly pondering if a ghost would feel a one of my energy projectiles or if it would pass right through him.


	3. Chapter 2

We held a wake for Ryan since I couldn't exactly go off telling his mother that his disembodied spirit spoke to me in my dreams. I could be committed, and, then, where would this story go? Anyway, the following week was touch and go for everyone. Kayla was an emotional mess and Jamie accepted a challenge from a teacher to not spar for days (abnormal at best- the guy has a death wish, I tell you) and pass a test that he would, under normal circumstances, not pass. However, based on the feelings I- and Jamie- kept getting, I knew Ryan was around watching over us. All would be well.

I didn't actually hear anything from Ryan until almost a week after his wake when his family's house (and his, still-living body- I guess his alcoholic mother, Aileen, discovered that he was breathing before they started to do any burial rituals to his body) nearly burned down. Kayla, the poor thing, had to rescue him. From what I heard, she almost died, but a mysterious, blue glow surrounded her. Somehow, she was able to escape safely. I wouldn't find out until later that this was Ryan supposedly sacrificing his chance at life to rescue the one he loved- his real trial. I wish I hadn't gone home that night. I would've helped Kayla rescue our mutual friend. After the trial was passed, Ryan informed me that he just had to wait for a certain day when he needed someone to kiss him, in order to come back to life.

Now, normally, I wouldn't trust a guy when he tried to tell me something like that, but with Ryan it was different. I believed him. He needed living energy- I just knew it. It was my innate spiritual senses kicking in- not that I would be telling anybody about them for a while. On the given day, Monday, after school, I dragged Kayla to Ryan's new apartment. This one wasn't trashed by his mother and her drinking buddies yet. I secretly intended to make sure that it stayed that way after remembering the state of the old place during several visits to care for Ryan's body.

We let ourselves in with the key Aileen had given Kayla- apparently potential girlfriends get this privilege in Aileen's eyes. I imagine it is so Aileen can cover up her neglect of Ryan by letting someone else share in his caretaking.

We walked to Ryan's new bedroom and I uncovered him to find that the golden hue that Ryan had explained to me had already crawled all the way up to his shoulders during the day. "You've gotta kiss him, Kayla. Otherwise, he won't come back." I looked at her, wishing she would hurry up. I mean, we did still have about six hours left, but why wait? Maybe I should tell her to wait for a few hours just to make him sweat. I would love to see his reaction to that.

She hesitated with the cutest look of innocence on her face, like she felt dirty for getting ready to kiss a comatose guy. "Why does it have to be me? Why not you? How do you know all of this, Bella?"

"Kayla, I know that this is seriously fucked up, I mean, we had a wake and everything, but I need you to not question me right now. Please kiss him. I will explain everything later." I still hadn't told her- or anyone for that matter- about my powers or the Cullen's. I wasn't ready to. For now, it would be only my burden. Maybe, one day, I'll feel comfortable enough to talk about my experiences, but I needed to keep this close to my chest for now in order to hold myself together. I still had too many open wounds regarding the Cullen's to speak openly about my time with them.

Kayla clicked her tongue at me in the most condescending way I could imagine, kind of like Alice would when I wouldn't agree to be her Barbie doll. Then, as if pretending the moment didn't happen, she knelt down next to him. "Fine. Today, I'll let it slide, but I'm going to want answers soon." She turned her head away with a smug smile.

I wanted to growl at her and say some not-so-nice things, but I am a fucking lady. "What the fuck." I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes instead before saying loudly. "We'll see."

She ever so slowly brought her lips down onto his and I could almost feel the love radiate throughout the room. They might not even know it yet, but they loved one another very much.

What Kayla thought Ryan and I had together was nothing compared to this. Our new friendship couldn't hold a candle to this old, childhood love. Admittedly, I was jealous of what they had. I couldn't imagine myself finding something like this. I am damaged. I am drawn to and stuck within a very supernatural world. I would be lucky to find anything like this. The force of their love almost brought me to my knees. I smiled for them until I noticed something odd.

It might just be me, but it seemed to almost take too long for Ryan's spirit to make it back into his body- almost like it didn't quite stick right. I mean, it is kind of an unnatural process, right? Coming back to life must take a lot of energy and time… I ignored the thought after his body started to move. Kayla pulled away from him, but only just. We both heard him whisper, "I can't believe it takes me actually dying to get a kiss from you, Kayla." Then, Ryan sat up and looked directly at me with knowing eyes. He would not be taking no for an answer when he asked about my past and my powers now. "Thank you, Bella. I can only imagine what the last few weeks would have been like without you around."

I smiled, their happiness was infectious. I swear it wasn't my own. "You won't be getting rid of me any time soon. It seems that you guys really need me around here. You're stuck with me now."

He laughed. "Yeah, I'll admit it. We sure do need someone like you around to keep us in check. It was fate that sent you here. I can feel it. You're going to be with us for a long time, Bella. I hope you don't mind it."

"Not at all." I said before we all gathered around and watched some TV, chatting into the night. I didn't even remember that I'd promised to call my mother. Tomorrow, she was going to be pissed.

* * *

After a thorough reaming from my mother over the phone the next morning, I stormed to school in a cloud of my own rage. Stomping through the courtyard, everybody gave me a wide berth. It wasn't long before I found Ryan lazing on the roof once again. He wasted no time. "What has you so ticked off, Bella? You start your period or somethin'?" He asked in that stupid 'I know this will piss you off, but I'm totally innocent' voice.

I rubbed my temples trying to assuage the oncoming headache. Sometimes, especially when I get angry, my spirit energy acts up, and it takes so much concentration to control it that it gives me a migraine. "Shut up, Ryan."

He jumped down from his ledge to my level and sat next to me. "There's something wrong. Tell me about it. Maybe you'll feel better." I shrugged. It couldn't hurt. Besides, I needed to take my mind off of things to prevent the headache. "My Mom is pissed that I didn't check in last night. I don't think that she realizes that by the time I get home it's already nine o'clock, and I've been awake for seventeen hours. Staying up to finish homework isn't possible, so my grades suffer… I'm frustrated is all." I said all in one breath. "On top of that, the argument happened before I had any coffee this morning, and you know how I get."

Ryan laughed at me and nodded at my last statement. Then, after a brief moment of thought, he piped up. "You know that you can always stay with me and my Mom for free, right? Just help us keep the place clean, and we will foot the rest of the bills. She won't even notice you're around."

"Are you sure you don't want to ask her first? I don't want to impose." I asked tentatively. I had intended on keeping the place clean, but I was going to do it out of kindness and friendship not obligation.

He nodded. "Yeah, the alimony my Dad sends is the only steady income we've really got, anyway. I do odd jobs and whatnot, but nothing really big. My mom hasn't worked in years, Bella. He and I've been her free ride for a long time, Bella. I can be yours too. I'll even get you a house key just like Kayla has." He chuckled merrily.

I laughed and nudged his arm playfully. "Now I feel special."

"Hey, Bella?" That serious tone had my attention quickly. When he saw that he had my full attention, he continued. "You were able to talk to me while I was a spirit. I didn't know you very well- we were just starting to be friends and all, so I shouldn't have been able to do that. Or, at least, that's what the people in the underworld said." I nodded for him to continue. "How was that possible? What are you?"

My eyes closed. How do I explain everything that's happened? Best start with the easiest bits. "Well, I'm human, but I'm also a spiritually adept person." He blinked. It would've been comical if I weren't feeling so high strung right now.

"So, you're a witch or something?" I almost laughed. Almost.

"Not quite. It's not magic, it's… but, no, I mean…" I sighed. "What I mean is that I have control over my inner spiritual and life energy. It's kinda like chakra, but less hoodoo sounding." I growled at myself and my stupid explanations. "This is so hard to explain."

A new female voice entered the conversation before I could continue. "Maybe I can help." She had shiny blue hair and bubble gum pink eyes- contacts I told myself. When she smiled, her eye teeth were huge, but she had the gentle demeanor of a kitten. She was wearing red hot pants and a black leather jacket and holding a silver briefcase in her hand. It didn't look like a regular book bag to me. In fact, it gave me a tingling feeling in the back of my neck- like it had its own spirit energy. Is that even possible?

As I assessed our surprise visitor and her mysterious briefcase, Ryan's eyes practically bugged out. "Brittney?! Is that you? Am I dead again?" He scratched his head in the lamest cartoony way I could imagine even pinching himself a couple times to verify that he was indeed still alive. I began to cackle, finding the entire situation strangely hilarious. It must have looked like I had lost my mind.

I was interrupted by Ryan poking me in the face, looking back at Brittney. "I think we broke Bella."

I sobered when I heard those words. "I'm fine. This is just... so surreal. Not even six months ago I was... and now. UGH! I should just tell you so that I don't have to censor myself every five minutes."

Brittney waggled her finger in my face. If she wasn't careful, it was going to get bitten off. "Not to worry, my dear. I have the video tape of your adventures over the last year. The underworld was very interested in your particular case. Why don't we get comfortable and watch the highlights so that Ryan is on the same page as you? It will keep me from having to explain a lot too."

So, we sat down and watched essentially a mix tape of my last school year. It was comprised of all the best moments and scenes. We saw me move to Forks and meet Edward and the gang, the run in with the nomads, the romance between Edward and me, and the wolves- ending with Jacob imprinting and leaving me alone.

That's when it happened. Finally, a single tear dropped from my eye. It was the first tear I was able to shed for my lost love in Jacob. I hadn't been given any closure from him, especially after Old Quil started training me.

Now, I was weeping openly. I went through all of that for what? I have nothing to show for it, but scars and a gaping pit in my chest that nothing can fill! No. I have nothing but a bleak future and spiritual powers that I don't fully understand. Nothing seemed to be going my way since the Cullen's left. I wish I could go back. I wished it every day up until I met Ryan at college.

My tears subsided quickly and I apologized for embarrassing myself. "Bella, seriously, it's no big deal. You're only human. Uh, spiritually adept as you may be. You know what I mean. You've been through a lot. Let it out." Ryan urged.

I shook my head, wiping the tears from my face. "No. Really, I'm fine now."

Suddenly, we were all interrupted by a toddler that started talking on the briefcase slash laptop screen. "Well, it's about time. Ryan, now you understand more about the world you live in and it's dangers. It's time that you undertake your new job in order to repay the underworld for bringing you back to life.

"J-job?" Ryan stuttered out, confusion written all over his face.

The toddler nodded. "Yes, coming back to life generally leaves people with more of a connection to their ki and the world around them. You will likely be able to sense the supernatural more now that you have been intertwined with it yourself. Thus, with your already present skill set, you more than qualify to be Earth's next spirit detective. Do you accept? Yes?! Brilliant! Let's begin your first mission immediately. Brittney, you take it from here. Carl out."

"But, Master Carl, sir! Why do I have to...?" Brittney stammered scrambling to find something to say that would stop the man from dropping the chore into her lap, but found no success. The screen went black, and she growled for a moment with fire in her eyes like she was ready to give Carl a good whack upside the head. Then, she turned to us and explained our mission. Why us? Because I heard the whole damn thing. We were in this together. Like peanut butter and jelly or some shit.

Brittney went on to explain that we needed to obtain three artifacts of value to the underworld from three demons that just so happened to be in town. Very convenient, very convenient, indeed. It's like there is no danger anywhere in the world but in and around this particular city for some reason- like some lazy writer only dealt with what they knew and nothing else. Not that I'm complaining. Let's face it- anything that involves a commute is a bitch. By this point, we all know how I feel about my drive and subsequent walk to and from school, right?

So, after Brittney had us fully equipped and trained on the spirit detective gear she happened to drag along with her (this woman's briefcase is like Mary Poppin's carpet bag, people), we set off in search of our three demons. Of course, thanks to me, we found the first demon in record time. This demon's name was Kyle, he is actually a demon trapped inside a human body. Years ago, Kyle was injured and on the run; his only choice to survive was to use the strength that he had remaining to transfer his essence into an unborn human child.

Over the years, he has grown into two separate personalities: the human the demon. You can only tell the difference by looking at his eyes. When the demon is dominant, he has golden eyes. They are green the rest of the time. When we found this demon, he explained that his deepest wish was to use the stolen magical mirror to save his human mother's life. The caveat of using the mirror, however, is that the person who uses it must sacrifice their own life in order for their deepest desire to be fulfilled. When I heard this, I scoffed at him which may have seemed cruel in the moment. I walked away towards where I felt a human life fading. I was unsurprised to find Kyle's mother laying in a hospital bed asleep and in pain. She was weak, but I had to try… Old Quil had mentioned his ability to do this, so, maybe, it stands to reason that I can too?

Without asking forgiveness or permission, my hands went to work and began to glow with spiritual energy. They roved above her body as I searched for a feeling of darkness that made her ill. Once I found the evil feelings within her, I concentrated on sending my energy into her body, focusing on destroying and ridding her body of that darkness. I don't know how long I stood there at her side, but I was able to rid her body of all the bad energy I could sense. She was going to be alright. When I finally pulled away, I realized that my spiritual energy was at an all-time low. I was getting ready to black out.

Before I could do so, Kyle returned the magical mirror to Ryan without a fuss. Easy peasy. "Thank you. I've never seen a human with so much spiritual energy. Your stamina is impeccable. You must be very powerful, indeed." Kyle said calmly. He seemed serene in this moment, like he didn't have a care in the world.

I laughed and held onto Ryan's shoulder for dear life. Without his steadying arm holding me around the waist, I would be on the floor right now. "You should see what I can do when I'm in danger."

Kyle nodded with a smile. "I can imagine, in fact…"

But, before I heard more, there was nothing but darkness.


End file.
